Back to overview

Walter Schneeberger, Editor-in-Chief ORF Burgenland #17 Are traditional playout channels enough for the audience? July 14, 2020 will go down in the history of Burgenland. The day on which the biggest bankruptcy, the biggest criminal case, the most unbelievable supervisory failure becomes known: Commerzialbank Mattersburg and thus all accounts are blocked by the Financial Market Authority. The damage amounts to more than 700 million euros. Thousands of savers fear for their money, corporate customers lose sums in the multi-digit millions, municipalities face bankruptcy. ORF Burgenland provides information in real time for days on end. Radio and TV with fixed broadcasting slots are not enough. Livestreams, online, social media, breaking news.

The uncertainty is enormous: What do ex-customers have to do to get an account and cash? How much does deposit insurance replace? What happens to loans? Who, besides the board members, is to blame for the dilemma? Besides state elections and the Corona pandemic, the third extreme challenge this year. The political battle ensues. Resignation of a state councilor. Investigative committee. Record hits on the Internet. More than 10 million page impressions in August on burgenland.ORF.at, tens of thousands of hits on the liveblog. Democracy requires information: Thanks to digital transformation, ORF can deliver what is needed to deal with, come to terms with and clarify this scandal.